Who to Write

In most cases you should only write your own representatives. Your Members of Congress (MoCs) and your state and local reps care what you think. When a MoC receives correspondence from someone out of district, they usually either forward it to your own MoC or discard it.

Find out who your Members of Congress are at govtrack.us/congress/member. Follow links to each of their websites and use the address card provided in the Pack or just make a list of their district or local addresses and phone numbers.

Mail sent to the capitol goes through a lengthy screening process and can be delayed up to 3 weeks. So many former staffers, recommend contacting the district offices instead. Follow your instincts. Either location will work.

The impact of writing to committee members who aren't your MoC will vary based on each individual recipient's correspondence policies. So although there are no guarantees, it couldn't hurt to try. If they receive a high volume of input on one bill, even if some is from out of district, the weight of public opinion will be felt.

Writing postcards to the current President is most likely a futile effort. It is thought that there is almost no chance that any action will come from the current administration due to correspondence, no matter how voluminous or persuasive. :(

Even if they are fighting for what you believe in, your occassional postcards of support will add fuel to their efforts. But you can save most of your post carding energy for targets who could be persuaded to act when they otherwise wouldn't have.

Lots of policies and laws that have a big impact on our lives come from state and local jurisdictions. Postcards and phone calls can be very effective at getting the attention of your state governor, your State Rep and Senator, your mayor, city councilors, county commissioners and other local representatives.

Definitely! Being a politician is a hard job and most of what they hear is criticisms. Plus there are lots of other courageous people in the media, and everywhere who would be buoyed and encouraged by an appreciative postcard! Appreciation helps people keep things moving in a positive direction even when it's a steep uphill climb.